Since the day in November 2011 that Justice Ray Finkelstein and University of Canberra Professor Matthew Ricketson held court in Melbourne, the mainstream media has been hostile to any suggestion of media…

Senator Stephen Conroy did not have a mandate for significant change.
AAP/Lukas CochMarch 12, 2013

Yesterday, communications minister Senator Stephen Conroy finally presented the government response to the Convergence Review and Finkelstein review. It is hard to know how many drafts of this long-awaited…

The right to watch the Boxing Day Test is enshrined in law.
Flickr/Richo in OZDecember 23, 2012

Is watching sport on television a right of cultural citizenship in Australia? Sport, we are regularly told, is integral to Australian culture. If you are interested in becoming a citizen, the current advisory…

Late on Friday 30 November, the day after the last parliamentary sitting day for the year, the government released its first official response to the Convergence Review. Seven months after the Review’s…

It seems that Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the gang of seven media bosses have buried their hatchets, reaching a compromise on media regulation. It’s to be business as usual, behind the starched-up…

Will Google be subject to Australian media regulation?
Stuck in CustomsJune 10, 2012

It’s been a remarkably busy year for Australian media policy. There have been three major reports released that address the future of media policy and regulation in the context of convergent media: the…

Takeovers are about control. Gina Rinehart’s acquisition of Fairfax Media Limited shares] - and increased stake in the company - has raised several questions about the nature of control in listed companies…

Soft porn music videos on television. Girls mini-mags featuring fashion and celebrity gossip at the supermarket checkout. Porn at eye-level in the petrol station. Billboards on the trips in between. As…

The Convergence Review came close to understanding the nature of user-generated content but not quite.
Flickr/Bruce Clay, IncMay 2, 2012

The Australian Federal Government’s Convergence Review, released yesterday, had a mammoth task. It was trying to establish just how to regulate the future standards, conduct, and technical aspects of today’s…

Murdoch’s “blind eye” on managerial overcommitment – too many media outlets, too little time – is unsurprising. But we need some tough decisions on the balance between media self-regulation and public oversight.
AAPMay 2, 2012

What are we going to do about media regulation? This week saw release of the 81 page report of the Convergence Review, an Australian Government document that deals with broadcast regulation and offers…

The Convergence Review’s final report is remarkable for its blandness and predictability. Despite the cries of fear and loathing from the Murdoch stable that the cold hand of government intervention was…

The line between traditional and new media has now blurred into indistinguishability.
flickr/francescominciottiMay 1, 2012

It should be easy for the Gillard Government to accept the recommendations of the Convergence Review. On the surface it seems all very sensible: a converged Press Council and Australian Communications…

The Convergence review’s final recommendations have fallen short when it comes to Australian content.
AAP/Dean LewinsMay 1, 2012

The Convergence Review Final Report released yesterday appears at first blush to promise major changes to the Australian media landscape. The report flags the creation of a new communications regulator…

I’m looking forward to the next few days. The Convergence Review’s key recommendation to introduce a new body to “regulate” the activities of our major 15 media operators – including newspapers – is significant…

Seven West Media’s decision to withdraw from the Australian Press Council raises questions about the Australian commercial media’s commitment to corporate social responsibility and best practice.
AAPApril 17, 2012

When the report of the Independent Inquiry into the media and media regulation, aka Finkelstein inquiry, was released some time ago, it was denounced as sinister and – like the Leveson Inquiry in the UK…

New platforms and services will face the same requirements for content as traditional media.
AAPDecember 16, 2011

Light on detail and raising many more questions than it answers, yesterday’s Convergence Review interim report is still bold and far-reaching, driven by a fundamentally optimistic view of the future for…